Mikrosam, a supplier of composite manufacturing systems based in Macedonia, has reportedly developed a multi-material capable automated fiber placement (AFP) system for Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus, Germany.

The company says that the AFP machine has eight axes and can carry out automated placement of thermoplastic fibers, thermoset prepregs, and dry fiber material.

The machine will reportedly allow the department of lightweight design and structural materials at the university to design and test complex 3D parts made of composite materials with structured functional surfaces as required in industries such as aerospace and automotive. The system features an AFP head with uni and bidirectional placement on open 3D shapes and closed mandrel surfaces, such as pipes and vessels.

For thermoplastic composites the system features a laser heating source, temperature control, and a closed-loop process. The dry fiber placement capability on the same AFP head opens possibilities for developing and testing new pre-forms for aerospace and automotive needs, Mikrosam says.

This story is reprinted from material from Mikrosam, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

]]>Tue, 15 Jan 2019 13:30:00 GMThttps://www.materialstoday.com/composite-processing/products/german-university-acquires-fiber-machine/SGL and Airbus develop composites for helicoptershttps://www.materialstoday.com/composite-applications/products/sgl-and-airbus-develop-composites-for-helicopters/
The first helicopter project will involve the supply of fabrics for structural components.

Airbus Helicopters Germany and SGL Carbon have formed a framework agreement to develop carbon and glass fiber materials for applications in the helicopter sector.

SGL and Airbus have already worked together to manufacture composite materials for aircraft doors. The first helicopter project will involve the supply of fabrics for structural components.

This story is reprinted from material from SGL, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

]]>Thu, 10 Jan 2019 12:15:00 GMThttps://www.materialstoday.com/composite-applications/products/sgl-and-airbus-develop-composites-for-helicopters/3D composite makes use of lignin https://www.materialstoday.com/carbon-fiber/products/3d-composite-makes-use-of-lignin-/
Using as much as 50% lignin by weight, the new composite material created at ORNL is suitable for use in 3D printing.

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the US have developed a renewable 3D printing feedstock which uses lignin.

Lignin is the material left over from the processing of biomass. It gives plants rigidity and makes biomass resistant to being broken down into useful products. Therefore, finding new uses for it could improve the economics of the biorefining process, the scientists say.

The project involved combining a melt-stable hardwood lignin with plastic, a low-melting nylon, and carbon fiber to create a composite with the right characteristics for extrusion and weld strength between layers during the printing process, as well as improved mechanical properties.

Lignin can only be heated to a certain temperature for softening and extrusion from a 3D printing nozzle since prolonged exposure to heat dramatically increases its viscosity, so that it becomes too thick to be extruded easily, the ORNL researchers noted. However, when they combined lignin with nylon, the composite’s room temperature stiffness increased while its melt viscosity decreased. The lignin-nylon material had tensile strength similar to nylon alone and reportedly lower viscosity than conventional acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or high impact polystyrene.

At the molecular level, the scientists found that the combination of lignin and nylon appeared to have almost a lubrication or plasticizing effect on the composite. They were also able to mix in a higher percentage of lignin up to 40-50% by weight, along with 4-16% carbon fiber. The new composite heats up more easily, flows faster for speedier printing, and results in a stronger product, they claim.

The lignin-nylon composite is patent-pending and work is ongoing to refine the material and find other ways to process it.

This story is reprinted from material from ORNL, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

]]>Wed, 09 Jan 2019 11:30:00 GMThttps://www.materialstoday.com/carbon-fiber/products/3d-composite-makes-use-of-lignin-/Hexcel at JEC World 2019https://www.materialstoday.com/composite-parts/products/hexcel-at-jec-world-2019/
Hexcel says that it will be showcasing a range of products at JEC 2019, taking place from 12-14 March in Paris, France.

These include a lightweight carbon fiber reinforced plastic transmission cross member produced from Hexcel HexMC-i 2000 molding compound and made using a fast compression molding process suitable for high-volume manufacture. Hexcel says that the part is comparable with aluminum versions in terms of both performance and price, is up to 35% lighter and has the potential to be a zero-waste process.

Hexcel will also showcase its new self-adhesive carbon prepreg patch technology which can help reduce the weight of an aluminum subframe by up to 50% and provide additional acoustic and vibration damping benefits.

The company will also display a hybrid side sill demonstrator developed with Volkswagen and Dresden University to address future crash test requirements, specifically for electric cars. The construction includes fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) with metal and offers weight savings, improved safety, increased energy absorption, battery protection in a crash situation and production flexibility.

This story is reprinted from material from Hexcel, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

Composites Evolution has introduced a hybrid composite tooling system which makes use of flax fiber reinforcements to reduce the cost of carbon-epoxy mold tools.

Currently, when molding carbon fiber composites in an autoclave, it is common practice to also make the tools from carbon fiber prepregs to ensure that there are no significant differences in the thermal expansion of the tool and the component being molded that might introduce unwanted distortion, the company says. However, this also means that the tooling tends to be relatively expensive.

Working with molding company KS Composites, Composites Evolution has developed a new tooling prepreg system based on carbon and flax reinforcements. While a standard all-carbon tool might consist of a number of heavier weight bulking plies sandwiched between lower weight outer surface plies, in the new hybrid tooling system, several of the carbon bulking plies are replaced with more cost-effective flax, according to Composites Evolution. It is possible to do this because the thermal expansion properties of flax fibers are sufficiently similar to those of carbon. The company says that as a result material costs can be reduced by up to 15% in comparison to an all-carbon tool and tool weight by up to 15% (flax fibers being less dense than carbon fibers) with reduced environmental impact due to the use of sustainable flax.

In trials performed by KS Composites, the hybrid carbon-flax tooling material has successfully completed over 400 thermal cycles.

This story is reprinted from material from Composites Evolution, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

Victrex has designed a new polyether ether ketone (PEEK) polymer for sealing applications in the cryogenics industry. The company’s Victrex CT 200 is suitable for dynamic sealing applications where gases such as LNGare stored and transported at cryogenic temperatures.

The company says that the 200 grade series exhibits improved sealing over a wider range of temperatures, compared to commonly used materials such as PCTFE. It does so at low temperatures because of its greater ductility, and at high temperatures due to its improved creep resistance.

‘We designed the new polymer with a lower coefficient of friction compared to its cousin Victrex CT 100,’ said James Simmonite, energy director at Victrex.

This story is reprinted from material from Victrex, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

The company says that the new grades meet industry needs for stiffer and stronger materials, similar to existing reinforced injection molding grades.

The new materials include Zytel 3D12G30FL BK309, a black heat-stabilized 30% glass-reinforced polyamide with a modulus of 4-5GPA and Zytel 3D10C20FL BK544, a black 20% carbon fiber reinforced polyamide for lightweight components with a modulus of 4-5GPA. Both grades have a heat deflection temperature of >150°C, resistant to most solvents, cleaning agents, automotive fluids and fuels at room temperature.

‘[O]ur industrial customers need 3D printing materials that offer similar formulation, mechanical and chemical properties as our well-known injection molding grades,’ said Ernst Poppe, new business development manager, DuPont. ‘These new glass and carbon-reinforced 3D filaments are a new step in that direction to help the industry move toward cost-efficient, automated and larger scale production.’

This story is reprinted from material from DowDuPont, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

RWTH Aachen University’s Center for Integrative Lightweight Production (AZL), Germany, has reportedly installed a new injection molding system in its technical center, made by Engel Deutschland GmbH in cooperation with the Engel Centre for Lightweight Composite Technologies in Austria.

The system will be used to develop new fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) processes and improve efficiency in lightweight production. The research will address multi-material systems, continuous processes, process chains and self-optimizing processes.

‘The system will expand our existing machinery in the AZL Technical Center and will be available as an important platform for lightweight production research at RWTH Aachen University,’ said Dr Michael Emonts, managing director of the center.

The AZL Technical Center offers large-scale equipment for the development of processes for lightweight production, such as a composite press from Schuler Pressen GmbH with a 18,000 kN clamping force.

This story is reprinted from material from AZL, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

Materials specialist Diab says that a catamaran, launched in Norway, makes use of infusion carbon fiber sandwich technology due to its lightweight and durable properties.

Shipbuilder Brødrene Aa’s new carbon fiber catamaran is called Rygerdronningen and will take tourists on sustainable sightseeing tours through the Lysefjord in Rogaland, Norway. It is 37 m long, 10 m wide and has room for 297 passengers. The sandwich panels are made using Divinycell products from H60 up to H200 in 30-60 mm thickness with vacuum infusion.

Diab has been working with Brødrene Aa since 1974 and together they have developed several ships using Divinycell fiber-reinforced panels. Compared to glass fiber sandwich and aluminum, carbon fiber provides four times the rigidity of fiberglass reinforcement, as well as two to three times the tensile strength, Diab says.

This story is reprinted from material from Diab, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

Covestro says that its continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites (CFRTP) are now branded Maezio.

Covestro produces uni-directional reinforced tapes and sheets based on continuous carbon or glass fibers impregnated with polycarbonate, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) or other thermoplastic resins. They can be thermoformed with existing thermoforming tools at high yield rates and low cycle times. Other production technologies such as hybrid injection molding, automated UD tape laying and automated fiber placement can also be integrated.

Maezio products can also be recycled at the end of their life.

This story is reprinted from material from Convestro, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

]]>Fri, 17 Aug 2018 22:30:00 GMThttps://www.materialstoday.com/composite-industry/products/new-name-for-thermoplastic-/Multipurpose sandwich materialhttps://www.materialstoday.com/composite-applications/products/multipurpose-sandwich-material/
The same material can reportedly be processed into different components of the sandwich structure.

BASF says that its new polyethersulfone Ultrason E material makes it easier to make sandwich structures for airplane interiors.

The same material can reportedly be processed into different components of the sandwich structure in a single tool, helping reduce cycle times and manufacturing costs.

The sandwich consists of a foam core and carbon fiber laminates made of Ultrason E, and if required, the thermoformed foam core with cover layers can then be overmolded with carbon-fiber reinforced Ultrason E 2010 C6 to incorporate reinforcements, structures or additional functional elements into the sandwich. The combination of 30% carbon fibers with the amorphous high-temperature plastic can improve mechanical properties for the light foam sandwich over a temperature range of -100 to +200°C.

The material, has a limiting oxygen index of 38 (according to ASTM D 2863) and meets the requirements for commercial aircraft with regard to combustibility and heat release without the addition of flame retardants.

This story is reprinted from material from BASF, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

]]>Tue, 07 Aug 2018 13:45:00 GMThttps://www.materialstoday.com/composite-applications/products/multipurpose-sandwich-material/Sabic launches GF heavy-duty panelshttps://www.materialstoday.com/composite-processing/products/sabic-launches-gf-heavyduty-panels/
The Stadeck panel is said to be lightweight and heavy-duty.

Chemicals company Sabic has launched a glass fiber reinforced plastic panel for the building and construction industry.

The Stadeck panel is said to be lightweight and heavy-duty, making it suitable for a range of construction applications and building techniques.

The panel also has weather and chemical resistance, anti-slip properties and improved fire behavior. Stadeck panels are NEN-EN 12811-1 certified which makes them suitable for scaffolding applications.

When compared to standard wooden planks, the panels have improved recyclability and weight savings, which can be up to 60%.

The new panels are suitable for scaffolding, frame works decking, fencing, floodwalls, jetties, sheathing, and wheel chair ramps. Stadeck panels is also are also suitable for temporary applications such as flooring at events and festivals.

The panels can be produced in different colors such as wood, stone and grass variated colors - and come in gauge 55 mm; width 230 mm and lengths of 3,000 mm and 6,000 mm, while customised lengths are also available.

This story is reprinted from material from Sabic, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

Exel Composites reports that its company, Diversified Structural Composites (DSC) has developed a fiber optic-embedded carbon composite rod for an oil well intervention system. The 15 mm diameter rod with fiber optic core was made for Norwegian company Ziebel and functions as a sensor, gathering real-time information about well behaviour which is reportedly unattainable using conventional methods.

To make the rod the resin required a very slow cure, so to produce each 6.2 km long rod, the pultrusion line had to run continuously, without fault, for more than three weeks. Ziebel and DSC worked together to formulate a spooling technology to facilitate the handling and transport of long lengths of pultruded rod.

In order to make informed decisions, oil drilling and completions teams need detailed information on fluid flow in and around the borehole during production or injection. Ziebel uses a distributed fiber optic system to do this, making use of a 6.2 km long, 15 mm diameter carbon fiber rod which delivers multiple fiber optic cables into the downhole environment. Typically, the rod is deployed into a producing or injecting well for 48 hours where the fiber optic sensors measure temperature and acoustic vibrations along its length. This enables a variety of applications – including flow allocation, fluid movement visualization, leak detection and stimulation fluid monitoring.

The carbon rod can also enable horizontal well access, since the lightweight, stiff composite rod can be 'pushed' from the surface into the horizontal sections frequently employed in wells, which is often not possible with conventional tools, Exel says. The small-diameter carbon rod can also access wells with restricted internal diameters and difficult geometry, has minimal choking effect on the well, and unlike metals, is inert to the majority of hazardous and corrosive substances found in the downhole environment.

This story is reprinted from material from Exel, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

Liftomatic Material Handling has expanded its line of drum handling equipment to add 3A-HD-BHDL, a below-hook drum handling system.

The 3A-HD-BHDL is an automatic and mechanical below hook attachment that can be used to lift 55 gallon drums from an overhead position for placement to or from many containment devices, scales, pallets or similar handling requirements. Drums remain in a vertical position while lifted and/or transported with the 3A-HD-BHDL unit.

The 3A-HD-BHDL works with three radial arms that conform to the drum body and engage at the underside of the drum chime on nearly any 55-gallon steel or plastic drum. The unit has a working capacity of up to 3000 pounds/drum. The 3-point connection assists to maintain the drum’s integrity during the lifting process. Drums with a range of 21’-23’ in outside chime diameter can be handled.

This story is reprinted from material from Liftomatic, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

A carbon fiber/epoxy molding compound from Hexcel has been used in a new overmolding process to produce a hybrid structure. The structure comprises Secar Technologies’ pullwound carbon fiber sections and Hexcel’s structural, rapid curing HexMC-i.

The two companies, along with Audi, joined forces to develop a composite engine bay brace for the Audi R8. This cross-shaped component braces the R8’s mid-mounted V10 engine and provides increased torsional stiffness. The project’s aim was to produce a composite version of the existing aluminum part that would offer improved light weighting as well as an improved visual appearance by providing a more organic molded shape.

For the R8 X-Brace, foam filled pullwinding carbon fiber tubes were produced and then overmolded with HexMC-i 2000 carbon fiber/epoxy molding compound to produce the central node and tube end terminations for direct mounting to the car.

The companies had to consolidate the molding compound and ensure the strongest adhesive bond with the thin walled (<1mm wall thickness) carbon tubes without crushing the pre-cured elements. Secar and Hexcel were also able to improve tool loading and press cure cycles to provide the best processing parameters for the compound with the M77 snap cure epoxy resin allowing a weight reduction of 15% over the previous aluminum version.

All metallic inserts for mounting the X-Brace were molded directly into the part during production, with the demolded part requiring minimal finishing before installation into the R8’s engine bay.

In tests, the part showed a sufficiently strong bond to the pullwound tubes with no adhesive film or additional bonding material required between the tubes and the HexMC-i molding compound.

This story uses material from Hexcel,with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

]]>Wed, 04 Jul 2018 23:15:00 GMThttps://www.materialstoday.com/carbon-fiber/products/lightweight-audi-part/3D printer wins German innovation award https://www.materialstoday.com/composite-industry/products/3d-printer-wins-german-innovation-award-/
Plastic 3D printing company BigRep has been named a winner of the German Innovation Award 2018.

Plastic 3D printing company BigRep has been named a winner of the German Innovation Award 2018, for its large-scale 3D printing machine called the BigRep STUDIO.

The German Innovation Award is run by the German Design Council. BigRep says that the STUDIO is the only large-scale industrial 3D printer to win a German Innovation Award in 2018. It has a print volume of 1000 mm x 500 mm x 500 mm that enables continuous printing of large objects.

The company was nominated for the German Brand Award 2018, in the category of product brand of the year, with a special mention in the machinery and electronics category.

This story uses material from BigRep, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

EconCore has installed a purpose-built 50 mm extruder as part of a laboratory-scale extrusion and forming line at the company’s recently-refurbished R&D facilities in Leuven, Belgium.

The extruder was built by machining specialist MEAF, based in Yerseke, The Netherlands, and equipped with a 500 mm sheet die built by Austrian flat-die specialist EMO Extrusion Molding.

EconCore’s honeycomb structures are produced from a single continuous thermoplastic sheet using the company’s patented ThermHex technology. This involves a sequence of thermoforming, folding and bonding operations. The process allows for inline bonding of solid skins to one or both sides of the honeycomb to create a finished composite panel.

Before th installation of the new purpose-built extruder, EconCore was carrying out its honeycomb developments using sheet unwound from a roll. ‘Now that we can produce our own sheet in-line, we have more flexibility in our operations and it is obviously much easier to make changes to the material formulations,’ said Wouter Winant, the company’s technical manager.

The extruder can also process polyolefins, bioplastics and thermoplastics such as polycarbonates, polyamides, and polyphenylene sulphide, EconCore said. It has a 50 mm barrel holding a screw with an L:D of 34:1, which is typical for polyolefins. However, it also has an improved heating capability, with each of its five zones rated at 5.8 kW. The extruder is reportedly energy-efficient, with a 600-L dryer for hygroscopic materials is fully integrated into the production system. Maximum output from the extruder is around 150 kg/h.

This story uses material from EconCore,with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

]]>Tue, 03 Jul 2018 12:00:00 GMThttps://www.materialstoday.com/composite-processing/products/econcore-installs-lab-extruder-for-honeycomb-/Upcycling PET for reinforced partshttps://www.materialstoday.com/composite-processing/products/upcycling-pet-for-reinforced-parts/
A German project team has developed a process to recycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to make glass fiber reinforced PET.

The new research project, UpcyclePET recovers of PET waste from plastic bottles in industrial applications, reducing the the use of new polyamide-based parts.

The project team consists of the company Easicomp GmbH, the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF, and the Institute for Applied Ecology (Öko-Institut eV).

‘We would not like to use recycled PET just for plastic bottles, but would also like to use it in the production of durable and long lasting products,’ said Dr Ing Tapio Harmia, CEO of Easicomp.

‘With this upcycling we are creating lightweight components out of fiber-reinforced recycled PET, and are thus reducing the use of glass fiber reinforced polyamides typically applied in the production of automotive parts, e.g. engine mounts or cross members,’ added Dr Volker Strubel, project coordinator.

The process uses pultrusion to reinforce the PET with long glass fibers. According to the project members, this can make use of the mechanical advantages of the very strong long glass fibers with the special properties of PET. There is also reportedly less swelling capacity and improved dimensional stability. All necessary processing steps can be completed in one manufacturing plant.

Environmentally friendly

‘This approach combines two processing steps that are separated in modern practice and customizes the properties of the recycling PET by chemical modifications and suitable addition of additives,’ said Dr Frank Schönberger, department head at Fraunhofer LBF.

‘We are expecting an innovation boost for high quality plastics recycling in Germany from the UpcyclePET project,’ said Dr Andreas Köhler, a researcher at Öko-Institut. ‘Upcyling of PET waste has significant potential as an environmentally friendly solution, since it facilitates the creation of long lasting products, while also serving as a replacement for plastics with much higher greenhouse gas emissions.’

This story uses material from Fraunhofer,with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

Solvay says that its Ixef polyarylamide (PARA) resin was used in the development of a compression staple system, a single-use bone staple kit for orthopedic procedures targeting the hand and foot.

The kit comprises a disposable sterile surgical tool set for fixating hand and foot bone fragments, osteotomy fixation and joint arthrodesis. It makes use of Solvay’s Ixef GS-1022 PARA, 50% glass fiber-reinforced grade, for several components: the implant sizer, the drill guide and each part of the implant delivery instrument, including its handle, the saddle on which the staple sits, and the threaded compressor that forces the staples fully open.

The mechanical strain on these components requires them to be molded from a very high-stiffness material. Solvay says that the grade used offers metal-like strength, rigidity and dimensional stability and is suitable for sterilization using high-energy gamma radiation. The material has been evaluated for ISO 10993 limited duration biocompatibility and is supported by an FDA Master Access File.

More robust

‘Our impetus for this kit was to develop a more robust, single-use bone fixation system than currently available,’ said Daniel Lanois, the development engineer for the system at Reign Medical. ‘Many competitive solutions use lower performing plastics that do not reliably withstand the force required to hold Nitinol staples open, causing the staples to disengage prematurely. After briefly considering polycarbonate and ABS blends, we chose Ixef PARA primarily for its outstanding stiffness, which enabled even the smaller components of the delivery tool to reliably withstand the compression of the staples as well as the torsional, tamping and axial loads applied during fixation procedures.’

This story uses material from Solvay,with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.

]]>Thu, 21 Jun 2018 10:15:00 GMThttps://www.materialstoday.com/composite-applications/products/stiff-glass-fiber-improves-surgery-tools/Velox at compounding showhttps://www.materialstoday.com/composite-industry/products/velox-at-compounding-show/
Velox GmbH, which provides materials for the plastics, composites and additives industries, will be showcasing a range of products at the Compounding World Expo 2018 taking place in Essen, Germany from 27–28 June 2018.

Along with co-exhibitors Polyram Plastic Industries and Völpker Spezialprodukte GmbH, the company will be presenting new and proven additive solutions for the plastics compounding industry.

In particular, the company will be exhibiting its flame retardant range. ‘With the new and stricter requirements for flame retardancy for various applications in electronics, construction or the public sector in Europe, halogen-free flame retardants are in increasing demand,’ said manager Nadia Kursawe.

This story uses material from Velox, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.